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MPs clash over Bill C-377 to force public disclosures by labour unions

By Les WhittingtonOttawa Bureau

Sun., Nov. 25, 2012

OTTAWA—One of the nastiest fights in years in the House of Commons is coming to a head as Members of Parliament prepare for a vote on the Conservatives’ bid to force labour unions to publicly disclose extensive internal information.

The contentious legislation, which opponents see as an attempt to use the Canada Revenue Agency for an attack on 4.3 million union members and the government’s political foes, has been brought forward as a private member’s bill by Conservative MP Russ Hiebert.

Legislation from backbenchers is often a lonely quest with little chance of passage into law. But Hiebert has Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his side. The Prime Minister’s office is helping the British Columbia MP rewrite Bill C-377 to modify measures that have touched off an unusual outpouring of concern from Canadians.

While Hiebert has acknowledged the need to improve the bill, the new version that is expected to be rolled out in a few days is unlikely to douse opposition to C-377 or cool the antagonism it has unleashed.

“This is not the innocuous musings of an individual backbench MP,” New Democrat MP Pat Martin said. “This is a well-structured assault on trade union rights.”

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“It lowers the bar in the vindictive use of not only private members’ business but also in using government institutions to attack the Conservatives’ political enemies and that’s really offensive,” he told the Star.

Hiebert’s bill would require labour unions or any group involved in collective bargaining with an employer to provide Canada Revenue Agency with information annually on nearly all financial affairs, with the reports to be published on CRA’s website.

Required information includes every transaction or disbursement over $5,000 for conferences, collective bargaining activities, training, lobbying, political activity and payments to union officers and members. The same reporting requirement applies to all investment trusts and funds operated by unions on behalf of their members. The name and address of each person involved in any of these transactions would have to be reported to CRA and would be made public.

Hiebert says the bill is in keeping with the Harper government’s attempt to promote transparency and the public has a right to know how unions spend their members’ dues, which are tax deductible and according to Hiebert cost Ottawa about $500 million in foregone revenues a year.

He denied the bill is an assault on unions. “I believe this legislation provides an opportunity for organized labour to increase the confidence that Canadians have in these institutions by providing some transparency and accountability,” he said in an interview.

But the legislation has sparked widespread alarm.

Opponents say it casts too wide a net, creates expensive and onerous reporting requirements, might disrupt investment markets and could bring an end to an era of relative labour peace in Canada.

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“To the extent that the bill requires the reporting and making publicly available details of salary benefits for all officers, directors, trustees and employees (of labour groups), we believe it would infringe upon privacy concerns and existing privacy laws,” Michael Mazzuca of the Canadian Bar Association told the Commons finance committee.

He also said the bill might violate guarantees of freedom of expression and association, making it vulnerable to a court challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Canadian Labour Congress President Ken Georgetti says the bill is a solution in search of a problem. “We’ve successfully worked with the government on a wide range of issues, and not once in my career of 30 years has a government minister or representative raised concerns about accountability with us—not once,” he said.

Of the proponents of the legislation, Georgetti said, “They work very hard to destroy what we’ve accomplished.”

Opponents of the bill want to know why Hiebert isn’t requiring public disclosure of financial information from many thousands of other Canadians—such as doctors, lawyers, engineers and others—who benefit from tax deductible dues payments to professional organizations.

And, in the wider sense, the bill is seen as a part of an effort by the federal Conservatives to weaken Canada’s unions. And the Harper government’s links to Merit Canada, which works nationally to promote “open shop”—or non-unionized—construction labour, has done little to reduce that perception. Also, critics point to Labour Minister Lisa Raitt’s use of back-to-work legislation to head off strikes and Ottawa Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre’s push to allow federally-regulated employees in unionized workplaces to opt out paying union dues.

“It’s part of a picture that’s starting to develop—this war on labour generally,” the NDP’s Martin said. “There’s a real pattern here.”

Hiebert has said some modifications of his proposed legislation may be needed to protect the identity of those receiving health care or pension payments from union benefit plans. Also, the requirement to publish home addresses of union members could be modified to protect people such as police officers. And Hiebert said it might be permissible for union officials to only provide Revenue Canada with an estimate—as opposed to a detailed record—of how much time they spend on political activity.

The Commons finance committee is expected to study Bill C-377 on a clause-by-clause basis on Monday, after which it will be returned to the Commons for a vote—likely before year-end. With the Conservatives holding a majority in the Commons, the legislation stands a good chance of being passed. But much depends on the amendments, as some Tories are believed to have doubts about saddling unions with such extensive reporting requirements.

The NDP is also trying to have Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer throw out the bill on the grounds that it violates a parliamentary rule that a backbencher’s legislation cannot increase federal spending. Hiebert rejects that complaint, and Scheer is expected to rule within a week.

Note to Readers: Reporters at the Toronto Star are members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada

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